Sather

Why is it that so few people who attend internet marketing seminars ever make any money? I call this phenomenon the elephant in the internet marketing room. Nobody talks about it, but it's there for everyone to see. Despite the fact that a lot of effort goes into making each internet marketing seminar better than the last, and that (overall), the content tends to be quite good (with some blatant exceptions); and the speakers tend to be quite honest (with some blatant exceptions), the fact remains that if you poll the audience, the majority of attendees are broke and getting broker.

Why is that?
I believe it has less to do with good or evil on behalf of the internet marketing speakers, and more to do with human nature.

Here's what I mean:
It's a lot of fun to attend internet marketing seminars. Most of the speakers have very good content to present- some I would even call exceptional- pure entertainment any way you slice it. It's a lot less fun to go home (alone) and actually do the work. People tend to do those things which they have to do (like going to work and mowing the lawn) and the things they like to do (like watching television and eating ice cream). They tend not to do those things which the should be doing (like exercising and working on their internet business).

Also, there are some big problems with the typical format of internet marketing seminars.

First of all, newbies are typically mixed in with experienced internet marketers. This makes it difficult for the speakers to cater to the audience as a whole. Usually, organizers look for cutting edge presentations, which, more often than not, translates into more advanced internet marketing concepts- not good for newbies.

Second, there tends to be no rhyme or reason to the presentations. The first speaker may present a power point regarding internet video followed by someone covering keyword research, followed by a blogging, followed by another video presenter. This makes it virtually impossible for the newbie or internet marketing beginner to see how it all fits together- let alone to be able to go home and implement it! Audience members are told again and again that they must take action- and that if they fail to take action, then they will fail.

Most fail to take any action. Therefore most people fail.

The blame for this is placed squarely on the shoulders of the attendee for not taking action- afterall the content was great and the speakers were professional. Its your fault for not putting all the great knowledge to work, right? Well, sort of. I think that the odds of internet marketing success go way up when an online business is created step by step on behalf of the student. They learn how to outsource each of the valuable parts of a successful e-commerce website and are able to watch professionals at work.

It's sort of like trying to become a real estate developer by taking classes given by successful plumbers and various tradesmen, rather than hiring them to build you a house and watching what they do.

You don't learn how to build an online business in a classroom any more than you learn how to build a house in a classroom.

Chris Moreno is the founder of The Internet Business School and a popular speaker on the internet marketing seminar circuit. The Internet Business School offers free online classes taught by live instructors to anyone interested in learning more about internet marketing.